John Hernandez

I began my career at the Council for Opportunity in Education as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President from December 1996 until October 1998.

I was then promoted to Systems Analyst in charge of information technology for the organization where I oversaw the transition from Novell network systems with Groupwise email to Windows based systems with Exchange email.

We transitioned our membership software from off the shelf customized DBase to iMIS and our finance and accounting system Microsoft Great Plains.

Our network developed progressively and we are now fully MS 365 operational with Azure Active Directory, SharePoint on Cloud and Exchange.

I managed all information technology hardware upgrade acquisitions.

I supported annual conferences by contracting for audio visual services from external vendors for meetings up to 2,000 participants.

When COVID occurred we transitioned from in person conferences to virtual conferences and from in office work to virtual working from home.

Today we have a fully mobile workforce with access to company email and files through web access services.

Our server footprint is at zero from an all time high of 15 physical windows servers and over 25 virtual servers.

During my 26 years plus of service in the United States Army I progressed from the lowest rank to the highest rank through demonstrated professional duty performance, dedication to the accomplishment of the mission and ability to perform with potential at the next level of rank. I led soldiers in peace time and in battle, ensuring they were trained to survive on the battlefield and personally developed to survive in the civilian work force once separated from the Army. I am fully knowledgeable of tactical communications from the team level, platoon level, company level, battalion level, brigade level, division level, and corps level. This includes all aspects of line of sight and indirect tropospheric scatter and satellite communications. I am a proven leader. I am an organizer of people professionally developing them to move in the required direction, trained to accomplish any mission in any environment and succeed.

Initially I was a communications center operator in Vietnam. My next assignment was at communication relay station in Japan. I returned to Vietnam as a military advisor with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam supporting the 22nd and 23rd Army of Vietnam Divisions' Advisory Radio Research Support Teams.

I then was at Fort Monmouth, NJ supporting the communications security equipment training school with COMSEC accountability of classified documents.

I moved to the Republic of Korea supporting an Air Defense Artillery Battery's Emergency Action Facility two-person control team. During my assignment in Korea I was reassigned to the 501st Signal Company, Camp Ames detachment supporting the special weapons storage base's emergency action facility.

My next role was as a tactical communications chief with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, TX.

Then I was assigned as the communications chief for a mechanized infantry company in the Federal Republic of Germany for three years.

I returned from overseas to an assignment as the communications chief for an artillery battalion supporting the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Cavazos.

While at Fort Cavazos I was reassigned as a communications platoon sergeant in the support company of the 312th Military Intelligence Battalion.

This was followed with a second tour in Germany with the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion in Wiesbaden, then as Operations senior sergeant for the 440th Signal Battalion in Darmstadt.

From there I was assigned to the 17th Signal Battalion at Hoechst Kaserne as First Sergeant of the signal company providing tactical communications to the V Corp Commander's forward command post. I was then assigned as the operations senior sergeant for the 17th Signal Battalion, planning and coordinating tactical communications for V Corps.

My next assignment was as First Sergeant, Headquarters Company, 21st Signal Battalion, at Fort Riley, Kansas. While at Fort Riley I deployed as the Senior sergeant of a Joint Forces Expedition to Bolivia, South America, supporting the Task Force’s entry into country of over 500 soldiers and 100 marines with final movement to Potosi. While there the team was liaison for the task force's re-supply, mail, military pay, medical evacuation when required and local contract purchasing of repair items and shipment to the task force site. Upon completion of the Task Force's mission the team coordinated the land and air transportation of all military personnel through National Air Guard airlift in country and commercial airline flights from Santa Cruz, Bolivia back to the United States.

Upon return to Fort Riley I deployed to the Gulf War with the First Division’s Advisory Signal Office team supporting the 1st Infantry Division tactical communications during the Gulf War. We landed in Saudi Arabia, deployed to the desert, completed the successful Gulf War mission, and returned to the states.

I was then assigned to the Sergeant's Major Academy at Fort Bliss, TX, where I graduated in the top 10%.

This was followed by assignment to the Pentagon as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Information Systems Command-Pentagon consisting with a workforce of over 1,500 civilian and military personnel. This command's mission included the operations of the Army Data Center, the Army Switch Board, the Army Operations Center, the Army Fly Away Team, the Army Communications Center, the White House to Moscow hotline and numerous technical and support departments.

I was appointed as Command Sergeant Major while assigned at the Pentagon and reassigned to the Republic of Korea as the Command Sergeant Major of the 307 Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade at Camp Carroll.

My final Army assignment was at Fort Cavazos, TX, as the Command Sergeant Major of the13th Signal Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.